Hundreds of women from all over Mexico City have donned their high heeled shoes to take part in a 100 metre dash.

Braving sprained ankles and broken heels, some 500 competitors kicked off the first ever High Heel Challenge.

The women battled against each other to reach the finish line first to win a shopping voucher worth £4,500.

But one contender revealed a more serious side to the event: "For me, high-heels are an obstacle in the daily life of women. This race shows that women are able to overcome any obstacle. That's the whole idea."

Unsurprisingly a few casualties occurred during the race with one stiletto-wearing runner taking a tumble and another seeming to pull a hamstring.

But in the end, 1500 metre champion Yamile Alaluf had the top heels of steel.

She said: "It's an honour for me to be the winner of the first year of the high-heeled race, because I think it will become a tradition in Mexico, that it will become very popular indeed."

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